Little Plastic Sticks
by Flash On A Bone
Summary: When three little plastic sticks bear the magic word, what will Casey and Gertrude do?
1. She finds out

_No, no, no, no this can NOT be happening! _ Gertrude Verbanski sat on the floor in the bathroom attached to her office, clutching a little white stick. Tears streamed freely down her face as the faint pink plus sign grew darker and darker on the piece of plastic. _This is false. I need to take another one. _She dipped another stick, this one blue, in the cup. She sat for five minutes and tried to stop crying as _two_ little blue lines appeared in the results screen. By the time she pulled the third test out of the pharmacy bag, this one digital, the crying had died down to an occasional sniffle. She knew it was pretty much impossible to get two false positives in a row, but she needed one last opinion. Five minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom, hair and makeup fixed, and tossed three positive pregnancy tests into a dark corner of a desk drawer.

This was it. Her life as she knew it had been shattered into pieces by three little plastic sticks.

* * *

She knew Casey was on some kind of mission with Carmichael Industries, so she couldn't try to contact him. She knew for a fact he didn't want kids; hell, he hadn't even known Alex _existed_ until she was nineteen! She was stuck. She couldn't keep it, but she didn't have the heart to abort it either. Adoption was an option, but she really needed to think this through further- and speak to the father when he returned. _The kid hasn't done anything wrong, except having two extremely screwed-up parents. _She sat on her couch and calculated how far along she could be. She got up and paced, thinking about it, until she bumped into something and lost all her thoughts. _Damn it!_ She grabbed a legal pad and tried again until she had three particular weeks of ovulation narrowed down. She flopped onto the couch, called a doctor to schedule a blood test, then tried to get up to go bed. The last thing she remembered before hitting the floor was the fact that the ceiling had a little crack in it.

* * *

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.**

Gertrude slowly came to her senses what seemed like hours later, in a dark room. She kept her eyes closed and assessed where she was. The sheets were scratchy and the mattress was stiff. Even Casey's bed was better than this. She listened to the sounds around her, and the constant _beep, beep, beep_ of a heart machine- _I must be in the hospital... why? _She then felt the pressure of something plastic on her face, and the memories all came rushing back to her. The baby, the pregnancy tests, the phone call. She did the first thing she could think of. She let out a blood-curdling scream and tore at the oxygen mask. The heart monitor started beeping erratically, and doctors rushed in. She flailed and screamed and avoided the syringe filled with sedative until Casey finally ran into the room. Knowing that he, the father of her child, was safe, she stopped screeching and allowed the doctors to sedate her for a few more hours.


	2. He finds out

Suddenly, she felt like she was floating. Her eyes popped open, and her _mother_ was standing there. "Mom? What... you're dead! You've been dead for twenty years! Why am I hallucinating!?"

"I know that, liefje_*_, and you aren't hallucinating." Her mother sighed in happiness. "Look at you. You're glowing... You've finally gotten what you've wanted..."

"Like I said, you've been dead for over two decades. How do you know what I've wanted? Am I dead?"

"Not yet."

"Yet? What's that supposed to mean? Tell me why I'm here!"

"I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that you need to keep fighting."

She distracted herself from the fact that her dead mother was watching her by staring at the faded couch. "I hated this couch..."

"You helped me choose that!"

"Flowers just aren't my thing anymore."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that... why did you cut your hair?"

"If you were watching me, you know why."

"Good answer."

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"How do I leave? You're right. I need to get back."

A door materialized into the wall as she spoke. "It's right over there." She dashed towards it and tugged. It would barely budge. She pulled the chain off and tried again. Something was keeping it closed! "You always were the stubborn one. Keep trying." She ripped at it a few more times until it finally opened, and she hesitated for a minute before stepping into the blinding white light.

* * *

"Charging-"

"Stop, she's back." A grunt of muted relief was heard from the corner of the room she was in. She kept her eyes squeezed shut. "Open your eyes, Gertrude!" She opened them but clamped them shut again when the bright lights stung her vision. "Dim the lights." The pressure on her eyes was slightly relieved, and she lookec around the room she was in. _Heart monitor. Blood pressure thingy, Fetal monitor- oh no. IV. He knows... I am so screwed. _ " Follow the light." A penlight was shined in her eyes, and she obeyed until it was finally pulled away. "Pupils are responsive." A hammer was tapped against each of her knees and she flinched. "Responses to pain good. Move your arms and legs?" She did as she was told and went through a few more basic tests until she was finally left alone with him. The father of her child, a man who was open about not wanting kids. A terribly awkward silence ensued until it was metaphorically painful to her. Casey, however, kept the same emotionally devoid face he always had when shit hit the fan.

"So. What the hell happened?"

"Mission completed faster than anticipated. Came back to find you half dead on the floor with your skull cracked open and you flatlined when doctors tried to seal up the gaping crack. They didn't want to operate 'cause of..." He trailed off, making a gesture to her stomach. "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"You can leave now and not have anything to do with it. I can get an abortion. Or, the shit can hit the fan and we can keep it. Your choice."

"I'm not completely missing out on another one of my kid's childhoods."

"That brings it to the other two." Casey gave a grunt of distress.

"How the hell did we even get to this?"

"You're a big boy, you tell me."

"I have no idea what to do." She yawned.

"Well, why don't you actually let yourself feel some real emotions for once and let your heart decide?"


	3. It goes wrong

Casey was still deep in thought about the baby when Gertrude was finally discharged from the hospital four days later. He had barely spoken to her ever since he had found about the baby, and she could tell he was struggling to come to terms with the fact that he had created another unplanned child. Her thoughts brought her back to his first daughter. Alex. She had taken the news surprisingly well, but had apparently gotten into an argument with Casey about the fate of the child and struck him when he revealed that he wasn't sure.

* * *

_"Wow, congratulations... wait." Alex had noticed the disturbingly calm look on her father's face. "Dad, can I talk to you for a second?" Casey grunted and they left the room. "You're not happy about it- she is, but you're not."_

_"Alex..."_

_"No. I want to figure this out. It's obvious SHE wants the baby, but do YOU? Are you going to miss out on another child of yours growing up because you're AFRAID?" _

_"Why do you even care?" Alex fixed a smoldering glare on Casey._

_"Because in case you forgot, this child is my half sibling and I don't want to see him or her die or grow up without a father because of your fears!"_

_"Look, I don't KNOW what I want yet! I never expected to have any kids, ever, but then you came along-"_

_"I wasn't a kid. You don't like small children-"_

_"And now there's another one and I'm really not down with the idea of it!" He didn't even have time to react before a small but firm fist came flying into his face._

_"You ungrateful bastard. You don't DESERVE them. Anyone who tries to care about you is an IDIOT!" Alex pulled her fist back and stormed towards the exit, but turned around. "Call me when you pull your head out of your stupid ass." Then she was gone._

* * *

Shouldn't she be caring more about herself? The doctor told her she had worked herself too hard and combined with most of her energy going to keeping the baby alive and healthy, she had passed out and hit her head hard enough to crack her skull. There wouldn't be any lasting damage to her head, so she didn't care. She realized that they were on her block. "Pull over." Casey kept driving. "I said pull over!"

"No. We're going to my place."

"If you drive one more block I'll yell 'Kidnap' out the window."

"You wouldn't."

She leaned her head out of the window, and he finally gave in and pulled over. She got out. "Bye." He ran after her.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"Home. I stink and I need some real food." They had reached her apartment building. "Unless you're coming in, go away." She reached into her purse and felt around for a minute, just as Casey was walking away. "Ha ha, nice try. Give me my keys."

"Not until we have a conversation."

"No. I heard all I need to hear at the hospital. Now please give me my keys back!"

"What, you don't want to hear my decision?"

"I heard your conversation with your daughter-"

"You were spying on me?"

"You left the door to my hospital room open! You don't want kids, you've made that obvious MANY times. Alex was right, you wouldn't have wanted anything to do with her if she had been a baby!"

I-"

"Save it for someone else. Give my my keys and get the fuck out of here!" Looking forlorn, he pulled the loaded metal keyring out of his back pocket and handed it to her. She picked one on the very end and unlocked her door. "Leave!"

"No, wait-" She slammed the door into his face, and he groaned in pain and wiped the blood off his face. A muffled sob and then a watery voice came from the other side. "We're done. I'm getting an abortion tomorrow. It's clearly the best option. You clearly deserve better than some knocked-up whore."


	4. it gets worse

After she slammed the door in Casey's face, she instantly felt something she hardly ever felt. Regret. She tried to hold the tears back, but the damage was done. He didn't want the baby. His words to Alex, the words he hadn't even wanted her to hear, ate away at her psyche until she wanted to scream.

_I'm really not down with it. I never wanted kids. _ The two sentences repeated like a chant in her head until she actually _did _ scream and threw some random object at the wall, not particularly caring about what it was. She walked over to her wine cabinet, then realized she couldn't have any. She let out another scream of rage and carelessly tossed the wine glass at the same wall where the ceramic goose from Africa had met its end. She flopped onto her couch and mulled over her thoughts. It was a mistake. The biggest one she had made in her entire 40, nearly 41, years. Yet, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to think about getting rid of it. She got up and paced until she decided to get a second opinion. She pulled out her IPhone and was surprised when it started ringing before she could even unlock it. "Bohemian Rhapsody" continued to play as she debated whether to answer her friend's call. After about thirty seconds she hit the green button. "What?"

"What's the matter? Are you OK?"

"No."

Sarah was being sympathetic. "Should I come over?"

"Yes."

"Want me to bring a bottle of wine?"

"No."

"OK. I'll be there in fifteen."

"Make it ten." She hung up and sat back down on the couch silently for what seemed like a lifetime until her phone vibrated.

**_Casey's outside your door. It looks like he's been here for a while. _** She groaned and typed a reply.

**_I told him to go away two hours ago!_**

**_Want me to make him leave?_**

**_Yes PLEASE._** She scrolled through her list of contacts until she found Casey.

**_GET OUT_**

**_No. _**

**_Yes._**

**_No. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I'm not leaving until you let me finish what I was trying to say._**

**_You made it perfectly clear what you wanted to say at the hospital. _**She put her phone into sleep mode, pulled out her gun, and opened her door. She stormed towards the end of the hallway where Sarah was having a staring contest with Casey.

Gertrude pointed her handgun at Casey. "You, get out now or I'm calling the police."

"I am the police."

"I don't give a shit! Get the fuck out!"

"No."

"You asked for this then." Before he could even blink, she had fired a bullet into his left leg.

"What the hell? You shot me!"

Sarah laughed and spoke in a mock sympathetic tone. "Oh no, you got shot. You should go to the hospital!"

"This isn't over, Gertrude." He hobbled off towards the elevator, grumbling swear words all the way. When the doors closed, Gertrude sighed in relief.

"What happened there, Gertrude?" She went back into her apartment, and beckoned for Sarah to follow her.

"Get in here." Sarah sat on the couch while Gertrude poured her a glass of wine.

"So... what was that?" Gertrude sighed, debating the pros and cons of telling her. _ She can keep a secret, but her husband can't... _She finally answered.

"I'm pregnant."

"Congratulations... wait, what's the problem then?"

Gertrude's tone turned cold. "It's not something to celebrate when the father doesn't want it."

"You're kidding." Gertrude kept the same angry, defeated expression. "You're not kidding... did he actually tell you he doesn't want it?"

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

"Because when I was still in the hospital four days ago, he told Alex. They got into a fight and he told her she doesn't want it."

"Oh jeez. How did she react to that?"

"She sucker punched him."

"Finally, someone did it. Maybe it knocked some sense into his head!"

"I hope so, 'cause I honestly have no idea what to do."

"Do you want to keep it?"

"I don't know! I want to, but... I can't!"

"Why can't you?"

"It's not safe. I'm a-"

"That's a shitty reason and you know it!. You're a spy, yes, but you are perfectly capable of protecting that child."

"Am I?"

"You won't get an abortion. You don't have the heart."

She thought about it for a minute and realized Sarah was right. "Yeah... but Casey doesn't want it."

"He's not pregnant. It's your choice!"

"True."

"And if all else fails, remind him he's abandoning his second child just like he did to Alex."

"Wait... what? What are you talking about?"

Sarah let out a harsh laugh. "He never told you?"

"No..."

"When he was eighteen he ditched his pregnant fiance for the NSA. He didn't even know Alex _existed_ until three years ago!"

She sat in silence for a minute, thinking about the newest information she had about him. "Somehow, that sounds like something he would do."

"Yup."

"Did he know she was pregnant?"

"No."

"That changes things."

"Doesn't change the fact that he abandoned her throughout her entire childhood."

She felt tears slipping down her face again. "I just... I just don't know what to do and I hate it. I've always been in control of my life and now I'm not!" Sarah grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, it's not a good look on you."


End file.
